Kids and Missouri’s Courts: Are Reforms Needed?

(St. Charles, MO) – When “children” and “courts” are paired in a sentence, it almost always means something has gone wrong in someone’s life.

This week, we examine two calls for reforms in our court system and both involve children in different ways.

Mark Ludwig of the Missouri-based Americans for Equal Shared Parenting explains why they want changes made to the laws governing our family court system. In short, they are pushing for an assumption that each parent in a divorce or separation will get fifty-percent custody. Find out what that would change and why that is among the goals of the organization.

Also, “justice” is not only about punishment. The Missouri Juvenile Justice Association also wants the system to be about correcting the life path of young people befire they make potentially-life altering mistakes in adulthood. Rick Gaines is the Chief Juvenile Officer for St. Louis County and a member of MJJA. He outlines his view on what an effective juvenile justice system is and how we can improve what we have in the state now.